Hello dear readers! I'm happy to announce that my semester is over, and thus I have a life once more. I'll try to keep things balanced from now on and not overdo it school-wise. I haven't been playing anything actively, so let's skip to the art!

Featured this week is newcomer Mirager Alpha's Determined Maria, portraying Maria from Xenogears. I like the quality of the lines very much and the detail in the hair. There's a good contrast between the shadow and the highlighting and also between the warm-colored character over the cooler background.

Dead Fishie has been very productive recently. This week we have three submissions from the same artist. I normally prefer not to do that, but I don't know when I'll get to post them, so I'd rather just post them all today. The first one is Cosmos from Dissidia. A simple portrait, this picture is well balanced in terms of composition and colors. The head seems a bit off, though, as if it was disconnected from the body. Next up is a Crisis Core piece with Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis. This, apparently, has been made for a kinky calendar - all three boys are taking their shirts off! The following picture in the cal.. err series of submissions is The other Rozalin, from Disgaea 2. Readers who plan to play or are currently playing the game should maybe skip this one, as it contains minor spoilers, according to the artist. The lines are pretty good and the background adds some mood to the scene.

Finally, have a look at TomR's Cecil Harvey. This is an amazing work. Everything is here: the textures, the details, the dramatic lighting, the dynamic pose and the epic nature. Thank you for the submissions!

yo This sums up the column for the week. Don't forget the fiery action in the comics! I can't speak for anyone else, but I clearly heard the black magic sound from the game in my head when I saw the first page's third panel. Anyway, have fun during the holidays and see you hopefully next week for a Christmas special!

Maxime Viventi